that is, instead of having nancy pelosi, harry reid, and the president and boehner and mitch mcconnell, you have two men in one room and that to me says an awful lot. the fact they released a statement that's plu conic. the lines of communication are open. this indicates to me a degree of seriousness we haven't seen to date and very important. now,ly also point out to you on the issue of balance and what former senator simpson said, i'm paying attention to the statements of business leaders right now. in particular, look at randall stevenson, ceo of at&t who said i think we need to avoid the fiscal cliff and a balanced approach and someone who's trended republican personally, that says a lot. it gives cover to the republicans in congress that this is okay to do in the name of american business. >> david, i want to quickly pivot back to entitlement reform. if the republicans have cover with the business world, let's play what erskine bowles said about entitlements and the president. >> i don't see why the president would want to negotiate against himself on this. you know, if the republ